Christmas Day s–s–s–s

Why so many s’s?  Because we had FOUR Christmas Days this year!  What were we thinking??  We are so blessed to have so many people to share Christmas with!

We started with our own little Christmas on the 21st.  We were headed to Idaho Falls and didn’t want to pack presents both ways, so we did presents to each other before we left.  We got up early – my kids actually slept until 7:30! – and opened presents.  The older kids both got Kindle Fires for Christmas and they were SHOCKED!  That was fun!  Miranda got a bunch of hair styling stuff – She still loves to do hair!  She got a blow dryer, comb, scissors (pretend), clips, and her own little belt to hold them all in.  She looks like a regular beauty specialist!  Timberlyn got a baby doll and a stroller – which she loves to push around the house.  We were all packed up and had to tell the kids – sorry, it’s time to go!  Actually, they were all really excited to get in the car and be on the way.  They had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. 

The roads were good and we made pretty good time.  It was fun to finally see all my brothers and sisters again – except Jackson, who is in Peru – more about him later.  We stayed at Courtney’s house this time and the kids had a blast.  They love their cousins, and played and played the whole time we were there.  Sadly, some of them, and their parents, got sick on the second day we were there…. and then more of them were sick on the third day we were there BUT WE never got sick AND everyone was better by Christmas Eve – so that was a blessing!

Christmas Eve tradition has been that there is a family dinner/gathering at my parents house for all my mom’s family.  This year we had 59 people there!  Grandpa Parry read from the Bible in Luke.  He read the Christmas story like he has for as long as I can remember.  It brought back many memories of me sitting on the floor by my cousins, listening to Grandpa and being nervous for the talent show that would always follow.  Good memories.

This year we had appetizers and then we all traveled to Rigby to go bowling.  We had reserved the entire alley for our family and had the place to ourselves – Of course, there were a lot of us, so it was crowded – but it was crowded with people I love!  It was fun to see so many people that I never get to see anymore.  It was awesome to see cousins, and their babies that I had never met.  It was so great to be around family. My dad’s parents,his brother David,  his sister Karen and some of her family were able to meet us for bowling.  What a rare opportunity for me to have both sets of grandparents in the same room.  Awesome!  I wish I could have visited with them both much longer.

We had a traditional “open one present” at Courtney’s house that night and all the kids were happy with their new pajamas!

Christmas Day brought the second round of presents.  Santa visited us at Courtney’s house.  Our stockings were filled to the brim!  Kaydra got a new game – Dominion – that we have heard much about from my cousin Stephanie and we are excited to give it a try.  Kanyon got a set of the state quarters and a nice folio to keep them all in.  Miranda got a “Happy Napper” and some slippers that she had wanted and asked Santa for.  Timberlyn got a cute owl hat and more candy within her reach then her mother knew what to do with!  Leonard got a blue-tooth speaker for his phone and a mini SD card with all his music already on it.  I got some new BOGS which will be awesome in the snow and when it starts to melt.  Santa was very good to us.

We watched Courtney and her family open their Christmas presents and the kids were delighted to find that Kalli and Tarek also got Kindle Fires.  They all spent the next little while deciding which games they wanted to download. 

We then traveled over to Grandma and Grandpa Fuller’s house again and had the fantastic opportunity to Skype with Elder Jackson Fuller in Cusco, Peru!  How SERIOUSLY AMAZING is that?!  Jake had set up the computer to display on my parents big screen TV so we could all see him and he could see us.

It was awesome.  He looked great and we had a great time visiting with him.  It was almost the same as him being right there – except we couldn’t hug him – which we all wanted to do.  He comes home in only two months – we are so excited! 

The best part of the conversation was after Jackson had been introduced to all the new babies – there have been 6 since he left – then Paul tried to introduce him to another one – pretending it was his.  Jackson said, “PAUL HAD A BABY?!!!”  The baby was actually Aika, Markell and Andre’s baby.  It was SO funny! 

After talking to Jackson, we had round three of presents.   We did a cousin exchange with all the kids and Mom and Dad gave us some great gifts that we are truly grateful for.  We gave them a picture frame with it’s own email address like the one Neil and Kay have.  It’s awesome because you don’t have to download pictures to the memory card – you just email them and they show up on the frame.  Perfect for family that lives far away.  I hope it gets some good use. 

The next morning we were treated to a goodbye breakfast and then we headed on our way.  Leonard managed to get a flat tire while we were there, so we traveled home on the spare (it was a full sized tire) –without a spare!  We traveled safely and without any problems, thankfully.  We were so glad to spend time with everyone.  We are so blessed to be loved by so many and to have so many people to love. 

Our final Christmas was on Saturday, at Neil and Kay’s when we returned home from Idaho Falls.  We were treated to a delicious dinner, followed by more present opening!  We did a cousin gift exchange on Leonard’s side of the family as well, and the kids loved opening their presents from their cousins.  Each one fit that kid so well!  Neil and Kay were also very generous and thoughtful with the gifts they surprised us with.  We got Neil and Kay tickets to a concert that doesn’t even happen until April – but we think it will be a fun date night for them.  We are so grateful to them and for all their help with our kids.  I feel so blessed to live close to them. 

After Christmas, we changed the theme a little bit and celebrated Sara’s birthday!  It was fun to switch it up a little bit and spoil Aunt Sara for a time.  She is awesome and we are SO glad that Kelly decided to marry her – finally  

I know this is an extremely long post, and if anyone even gets to the end, you are amazing.  What it really shows me is how blessed my family truly is.  We come from amazing extended families.  We feel so loved by each of them and so blessed to be a part of them.  Thank you all for your love and support.  You are really the best gift we have.  YOU are what makes our life so amazingly awesome!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Tree

This year was the easiest year I have ever been Christmas tree hunting.  Last year was easy too – but I didn’t go because I stayed home with baby Timberlyn.  Anyway, this year was easy because Leonard said – “There’s a tree at the edge of the field that I think would be good for a Christmas tree.”  We bundled up all the kids, walked to the edge of the field – which was dry because there was no snow on the ground yet – found the tree, decided it was good, cut it, and drug it home.  I forgot my camera so we didn’t get a picture until it was decorated. 

It is a fantastic tree.  I think it is the fullest tree we have ever cut ourselves.  It’s only flaw is that it only has three sides – but you can’t tell because it fits perfect in the corner of our dining room.  We did learn that a three-sided tree doesn’t really like to stand upright.  But a little fishing line tied around it and then stapled to the wall fixed that problem pretty quick.  One of the benefits of log walls -- no one cares if there are a few more holes!  The tree looked great!  See for yourself!

Awesome, huh!  Love the smell of fresh cut pine.  Then, right before church one Sunday I took pictures of the kids in their new Christmas wear.

How did I get such good looking kids?  What a family I have!  I am so blessed!

Thanksgiving

I keep telling myself that I need to blog… Somehow it never happens.  I will try to update the past two months in three posts.  We’ll see how it goes.  For the record, I have almost no pictures on my camera for the past two months.  My blogging definitely improves the more I have my camera out, and lately, I haven’t had it out much.  Thus, I will steal many pictures from my siblings blogs.  Thanks in advance!

This year for Thanksgiving, Leonard had to work.  We decided to wait to celebrate until Friday because he had the day off that day.  I called Markell to see if she and Andre wanted to come celebrate for us and they thought that would be great.  They came as soon as Andre was finished with school – AND officially a graduate of University of Idaho, I might add – and arrived on Wednesday evening.  They brought their two cute kids and we had a great time.  We were also dog-sitting Neil and Kay’s new springer puppy.  With six kids (three under 2), four adults, two dogs, and a cat – we had a houseful!

Andre spent Thursday walking around the woods looking for a deer.  Thursday night, Markell and I braved the crowds and did a little early Christmas shopping.  Even though it’s crazy, it’s so fun!  Plus, it’s never as crazy as it is shopping with all four of my kids in tow.  With no children, we actually got a lot done!  We climbed into bed about 1:00 in the morning, feeling successful with our purchases.

Friday morning Leonard and Andre went hunting together.  They were trying to get Andre a deer to fill his freezer.  We were happy when they called late morning, saying they were successful.  It was a pretty nice buck that Andre shot and they were pretty pleased.

That afternoon we had our Thanksgiving dinner.  It was fun to prepare it with help from Markell and Kaydra.  We used all my Christmas dishes since we wouldn’t be here for Christmas – got to use them sometime!

 

That night we braved the crowds in Coeur d’Alene for the annual Thanksgiving parade and lighting ceremony.  They had a parade downtown followed by a walk to the park, candle lighting, and fireworks.  Then they light up all the trees in the park.  It was cold, but the kids seemed to like it – except for the babies – I’m pretty sure they thought we were crazy! 

We relaxed on Saturday, had homemade turkey soup and just let the kids play.  We also found time to make some swags to hand on the door for Christmas.  Then on Sunday, Markell and Andre headed back home.  We were glad they decided to spend their holiday with us.   Come again soon!

Pumpkin Carving

So I know I have been slacking in the blogging world.  I haven’t actually blogged for about 2 months.  Where did the time go?  After school started, it seems like we have been going like crazy!  Thanks to the wonderful world of Live Writer (where I write all my posts) I have been able to set the “post date” for my posts so I can backdate them to the appropriate time.  You will notice that there are several new posts following this one – even though they weren’t there yesterday.  I hope that you might have time to look through them all!  There are some cute pictures anyway! 

My kids always look forward to carving pumpkins.  We used to have an “in” with the Beck Family Farms in Gunnison, Utah where we would get all our pumpkins.  Now we live too far away to enjoy their generosity – so I have to BUY pumpkins.  I know I should grow some but that is for a different post completely!!  So I watch for a good deal and then buy enough to carve and an extra to make our traditional Dinner in a Pumpkin meal.  They were on sale this year for 9 cents a pound at Super 1.  I bought 4 pumpkins and they sat on our front step for about 10 days before we finally decided we better carve them – the night before Halloween.  I know were were cutting it close, but when you live in the country, no one comes over to see your carved pumpkins anyway! 

The kids had a good time and I decided to carve the pumpkin I had bought for dinner.  Then then next night I cooked it in the oven with the meat inside.  The holes were small enough that the meat stayed inside. It was also kinda fun to watch it cook!  Here it is before – I don’t have a picture of it after I cooked it – should have thought of that!

Here are all the kids and their creations.  They love carving pumpkins!

And finally, the finished products!  In order from left: Brooke’s, Kaydra’s, Kanyon’s, and Miranda’s.

Halloween 2012

October always marks the anniversary of my blog.  I started blogging five years ago and I am so glad I did.  Every year I print the years entries on Blurb.com in a 7 x 7 hardbound book.  It is so fun to have a collection of them now.  I am not very consistent but I always have a little record of the year and of the most important things that happened.  I am not good at keeping a journal – so this is it.  I hope that someday, my kids will cherish the work I have put in to this. 

Enough about that!  This year we did things a little backwards.  We took pictures of the kids in costumes before the ward Trunk or Treat/Harvest Festival.  That way you can see them without all their coats and boots on!  Actually, this year, Halloween was really warm.  We wore jackets but we were not all bundled up.  I think it was 58 degrees.  That is unheard of for Idaho at Halloween.  We weren’t complaining!  Anyway,  on with the pictures.  This year we sported a witch, a mummy, a pirate, and a bumblebee. 

Don’t they make those costumes look great?!!

To market, to market….

Kanyon and Leonard had to be a Scout Day Camp today at Camp Easton.  I decided to take the girls to the final Farmer’s market in downtown Coeur d’Alene.  There were quite a few booths and some yummy snacks.  They were having an “Apple Palooza” which meant that there were several vendors downtown giving away samples of apple treats (apple pie, apple tarts, apple muffins, even apple margaritas – didn’t try those!)  We had a good time walking around Sherman and visiting some of the shops that I have always wanted to go in, but never have.  We were also pleasantly surprised to find free face painting.  Miranda was so excited and asked for “A rainbow”.  The artist said, “Would you like a unicorn too?”  Miranda’s eyes got big and she nodded.  She sat quietly and was so happy to see the finished project:

Not bad for free face painting!!  What a fun town we live in!

Thomas

Michelle and Thomas made their way to Coeur d’Alene this week.  Well, Michelle made it anyway.  Thomas only went as far as Spokane for his marching band competition.   So… we decided to go there to watch him play.  It was a good day to be outside.  We found that those marching bands can get kinda serious!  We were there for the preliminary competition.  It was fun to see him on the field with his classmates.  I actually got a few pretty good pictures, so I thought I better blog about them!!  Their high school had a Star Trek theme.  We thought they did a great job!  Thanks for inviting us, Michelle, and for helping me with the kids while we watched.  It was fun to have you here!

There’s Thomas!  Right in the middle

School Starts Again

Another school year starts!  The kids are excited to start a new year.  Kaydra is starting a new school!  I went to school with both kids on their first day.  It was a lot of driving, but worth it to see them start fresh!  Kaydra had a school orientation the week before school started, so she knew which classes to go to and where her locker was.  I think she was still a little nervous to be in middle school.  How did that happen anyway?!  She happens to have the exact same class schedule as her best friend – so that worked out well.  She starts the day with Mr. Couser for Pre-Algebra, then has Mr. Shanley for Science.  She then goes back to Mr. Couser for Advanced Language Arts for two class periods.  They are split with lunch in the middle.  She then has a class called Exploratory that will change every 6 weeks.  They rotate through different classes to see what they enjoy so when they are 7th and 8th graders, they will know which electives they want to choose.  I think it’s a great idea.  After Exploratory she goes to Mrs. Barnett for Social Studies and then has her Magnet Class.  This class is also one she was able to put in a preference for.  Each teacher at the school chooses something they are passionate about and then teaches a class on that subject.  The classes are combined with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and they can’t take the same class twice.  They switch classes every quarter.  Her classes for the year are:  Horticulture, Strings and Things (a beading class), American Sign Language, and Anatomy and Physiology.  I would even like to take those classes!  She also has the option of going to Orchestra two or three days a week (it alternates).  She misses Exploratory on those days but it doesn't effect her grade in those classes.  It’s kinda like sneaking in an extra class!  Anyway, she is still playing the violin, so she was excited to be able to participate in Orchestra. 

Kanyon starts 3rd grade this year.  His teacher is a new-to-the-school teacher.  Her name is Mrs. Briggs.   She is young and has her hands full with a classroom of boys.  There are a few girls in there too but it sure seems like there are a lot of boys!   She really likes Ipods and she has several for her classroom with various apps on them for the kids to play after their work is completed.  Kanyon was very excited when he heard about that.    He leaves Mrs. Briggs’ class every afternoon to go to Mrs. Duncan’s class for ALP Reading.  It means he tested well on his ISAT and qualified to be in her advanced class.  He was excited about that too.  He really likes Mrs. Duncan.  Kanyon was also excited about going back to school because of his favorite game:  4-square.  He plays that game with a bunch of friends EVERY recess.  Who knew there were so many rules! 

Both kids are doing great and I am so excited to see what the new year brings. 

Labor Day

So while Leonard was fishing his life away in the remote wilderness of Alaska, the rest of us decided to go to Idaho Falls.  I didn’t have the camera so therefore, I took no pictures.  I will just have to steal them from my sister-in-law, Jana’s blog!  Thanks Jana! 

Uncle Paul was home to help us unload the car and help us settle in while Grandma and Grandpa were catching the end of Kalli’s soccer game.  Kalli even managed to score in the final seconds so that her team won!  Way to go girl!  We made ourselves at home and were excited when they walked in the door.  The next day, Thursday, we hung around the house and made pickles.  We canned 70+ quarts of pickles!  I brought the cucumbers from Coeur d’Alene and we spent the day canning them.  It was totally worth it because the pickles are amazing!  Courtney, Jana, and Dad all helped Mom and I throughout the day. 

The next day, Friday, Courtney’s kids had the day off from school so we went boating!!  It was a lot of fun and something my kids have been looking forward to for awhile.    Here’s where the picture-stealing comes in! 

Kaydra and Kanyon tried wakeboarding.  They both almost got it.  It was cool to see them try!

Kaydra

Kanyon

They are pretty proud of these pictures because even though they fell quite a few times trying to get up, these pictures make it look like they knew what they were doing!  Pretty fun!

Miranda would have been happy to spend hours on the tube.  Unfortunately, the rain came in the afternoon and we packed up quickly and headed home.

Saturday found us at the Eastern Idaho State Fair.  We go there mostly for the food, but it’s fun to do a few things while we are there too!

The kids rode a few rides and we visited the petting zoo.  They milked a fake cow (for some free milk!) and ate more food.  We also ran into a few of the Aldridge kids there, Jason, Pearl, and Charlotte and her husband, Robert.  Fun to catch up with a few cousins.  A few of the little kids managed to win a stuffed animal in the drawing they had because it was kids day.  We came home with a giant stuffed wolf-dog thing that Kanyon won.  Yay!!

Sunday we went to church and visited with our friends from our old ward.  It was good to see many of them there and nice to still feel at home there.   We also went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Great – Parry that morning and it was good to see them.  Then Sunday night, my dad’s parents, Grandma and Grandpa Great – Fuller, came over with Aunt Karen and the Aldridge kids to have a fire and roast S’mores.  We said goodbye and thought we’d seen the last of them but then they returned in the morning for breakfast after their car broke down on their way home.  After a quick shuffle of cars, they were on their way again and so were we.  We left Monday morning and headed for the long drive home.  The kids traveled really well and we didn’t have any car trouble along the way, so I feel blessed for that. 

It was a great trip and we wish that we could spend more time with all our family down there.  Sorry we missed many of you while we were there.  Maybe next time! 

Thanks for the fun trip and fabulous memories!

Gone Fishin’

Ever since Leonard and I met, he has wanted to go fishing in Alaska.  Every summer he would ask if he could go fishing in Alaska and every summer it seemed we had something going on.  Having a baby, moving, building a house, going to school.  It just never seemed to work out.  Well, this summer, he wouldn’t take no for an answer!  Just kidding – I actually said yes this time!

He has really been wanting to go fishing in Alaska with his Dad, and his brother.  It happened this summer.  They went with another family that they grew up in Coeur d’Alene with – the Livingstons – plus a couple other tag-a-long friends.  There were 9 of them total and they all slept in a cabin managed by the forest service on an island near Wrangell, Alaska.  Leonard had been planning this specific trip for the past few months and was so excited when the time finally came.  It started off a little rough….

They had to catch a plane at 5:00 a.m. which meant Leonard left home at 2:00 a.m. to pick up his dad and then head to his brother, Kelly’s house.  They got there around 2:30ish and were trying to get Kelly’s attention without waking up their baby.  They were shining flashlights in the windows.  Finally, Leonard texted Kelly to let them know they were there.  Leonard and Neil went in and brought out Kelly’s stuff to load in the pickup.  Kelly was in the shower so they were waiting for him to finish up when Leonard noticed a man in black running in the street with a GUN!!  He turned to tell his Dad to get out of the street when someone behind him said, “Police! Put your hands in the air!!” 

It seems from the neighbor across the street’s point of view that the house was being robbed!  Strange truck showing up at 2:30 a.m. …..flashlights going on and off….people carrying out armloads full of stuff to the truck… So he called the police!!  They thought they had caught a robbery in progress! 

It took a little explaining to convince the officers that they were going on a trip and picking up his brother.  Leonard said he thought they finally believed them when Sara came out in her bathrobe and admitted to knowing all three of them.  What a way to start a trip!  Thank goodness no one was hurt and that they finally made in on their way to Spokane to catch their flight!

They finally made it to Alaska!  They went grocery shopping for the week, got their licenses, and headed by boat to the island where they were staying.  Let’s just say they were a little excited!!

Leonard took so many pictures that I can’t put them all in the blog.  They had a great time.  They caught all different types of fish, saw whales, dolphins, and ate crab most nights for dinner.  It was a rough week for him.

While he was gone we spent some time in Idaho Falls.  I’ll write about that in the next post – but there won’t be as many pictures because he had the camera!  I am glad that he finally was able to go to Alaska – he’s already planning the next trip!